Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry once again demands that the Kremlin stop prosecutions of Crimean Tatars. Maryana Betsa, the spokeswoman for the Ministry, tweeted this on October 12.

‘Persecutions of Crimean Tatars are a part of the purposeful policy conducted by the occupant. Once again we demand that Russia stops violating human rights,’ she posted.

Since the illegal annexation of Crimea in March 2014, Russia has been interfering with domestic affairs of national minorities, specifically Crimean Tatars. There were media reports about missing and deceased Crimean Tatars. Many, including the members of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar people fled the peninsula, choosing to live in the mainland Ukraine rather than under the Russian rule – non-recognized by most of the civilized countries. Ealier this year, Russia officially banned the Mejlis of Crimean Tatars on its entire territory, including Crimea.

The issue of persecution of Crimean Tatars has since been repetedly raised by the Ukrainian government and the Crimean Tatars themselves regularly on the international level.